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Reading Room Changes: New Chicago Browsing Area

We’re very pleased to announce significant changes to the General Reading Room on the second floor at the Newberry.

Thanks to the compact shelving project which greatly increased the space in our stacks building, we had the option of moving some infrequently used resources back to the stacks. The availability of online federal censuses has lessened the need to have census microfilm available in the reading room, so we relocated 10 microfilm cabinets of census rolls to the stacks as well. (Note that all these materials are still readily available via call-slip when you need them).

The 2nd floor reference desk has now moved out from the microfilm area to a more prominent position in the room, allowing us greater visiblity and improved ability to interact with and assist reseachers.

The space that formerly contained microfilm cabinets and the reference desk, designated as the Smith Family Genealogy Reference Center, now includes new shelving for genealogy and local history reference works and improved consultation spaces. The cabinets holding Chicago newspapers, city directories, naturalization soundex and Family History Library microfilms remain in this new area.

To emphasize the Newberry’s Chicago history resources we have brought out a good deal of Chicagoana from the stacks to create a robust Chicago Browsing section in the Reference Center, and a larger table now allows for easier viewing of the open-shelf Chicago maps.

Come and check out the changes! We hope you’ll let us know what you think.

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